Halloween Done Right
by L. Greene
Summary: AU! It's Halloween, and Anna Milton throws a party for the neighborhood. Sparks fly, but they're not just fireworks. T for language. Pairings are Destiel, Sabriel, Balcifer, Jo/Anna.


**Happy Halloween, everyone! I present to you a Halloween AU featuring all my ships! (I literally wrote all of this today, in about six hours.)**

* * *

Angels and demons were popular Halloween costumes this year. No one was quite sure why. But if there was one thing Dean Winchester hated, it was dressing up like everyone else.

So while Jo was running around with black contact lenses in and trying to find her red shoes, Dean was donning a hockey mask and running a fake chainsaw. Sam, too, hadn't bought into the "angels-and-demons" crap and was actually dressed fairly normally, albeit with a pair of moose antlers on his head. Dean suggested he strap a red nose on and go as Rudolph, but Sam just gave him a bitch-face. But hey, it wasn't like there was a huge difference between moose and reindeer. It was just two more months until he could wear the antlers again.

One of the families in the neighborhood was throwing a Halloween party for the whole neighborhood, offering a general community atmosphere and a place for the kids to trick-or-treat safely. The invitation that had been dropped in every mailbox in a six-block radius specified that you didn't need kids to come, either—there would be things that adults could do, too. Dean hadn't even planned on going, but Jo really wanted to go and Sam wanted to go with her, so Dean decided he should tag along. There were lots of people in the neighborhood and some of them were bound to be interesting, after all.

"Let's go!" Jo said excitedly, tying a red cape around her neck.

Sam shrugged, the look on his face clear: _Ready as I'll ever be._

* * *

"Thanks for helping out, guys," Anna said as Castiel brought out a huge bowl of candy. He smacked Gabriel's hand away from the bowl and gave him a dirty look.

"That's for the children," he said. "I know you have the mentality of a six-year-old, but you're not actually a child."

Gabriel stuck out his tongue and produced a Jolly Rancher from his jacket pocket.

The three of them had stuck with the "angels-and-demons" theme, although they'd all opted for the angels half. Anna was the only one in a full angel getup, complete with halo, wings, and floor-length white robe. Castiel had a set of wings strapped to his back and a halo perched above his dark-brown hair, but instead of a robe, he was wearing a white shirt and jeans. Gabriel had been the laziest and just put on a set of wings. Still, they were the biggest and by far the most impressive, so they worked out.

"You're welcome," Castiel added to Anna, who looked around anxiously.

"I _thought_ Balthazar said he was going to be here. Have you seen him?"

Balthazar took that moment to swagger through the gate with a heavy-looking box in his hands. "Anyone care to help out?" he called, the wings affixed to his back wobbling in either annoyance or strain.

Castiel hurried over the grass to where his friend had hefted the box and started picking out bottles. "You really went all-out for this, didn't you?" he asked, examining the varieties of liquor that Balthazar had brought. The blonde had also decided the angel theme was appropriate and, in addition to wings and a halo, had his usual gray V-neck shirt and jeans on.

"Of course," Balthazar said cheerfully. "Halloween only comes once a year!"

With a few of the bottles tucked underneath Castiel's arms, the box was light enough for Balthazar to carry the rest over to the designated 21-and-over section. He'd agreed to be acting bartender for the night and Anna had already set out stacks of Solo cups and bags of ice. Castiel had bought a bunch of sodas, and all the liquor Balthazar brought pretty much guaranteed he could make anything anyone asked of him. As a few partygoers arrived, Anna started up the music and stationed herself near her makeshift DJ booth.

She'd _really_ wanted to do karaoke this yeah, but it was only the first year and she hadn't really budgeted for this. She'd had the bright idea for a neighborhood Halloween party in August, and ever since then, she'd been saving as much as she could. She really wanted to drum up the interest to make next year bigger and better. Still, she'd set out jars with holes poked in the top with signs that said, "Donations not required, but appreciated! :-)" Within moments, the sounds of I Am Ghost filled the air and the giggling of children drew closer.

* * *

The party was in full swing by the time June and her dad showed up. As they passed by the other houses, she realized that the whole neighborhood must have been at this party, too, because there didn't seem to be very many houses with their porch lights on. This was only confirmed when her dad pulled to a stop about two blocks away from where the party was. "I think this is as close as we're going to get, baby," he said, unbuckling his seatbelt and looking at her in the rearview. "Feel like walking?"

June hurried to unbuckle as well and waited impatiently for her dad to get out and let her out of the backseat. _Damn child locks!_ she thought, but because she was only eight, she didn't dare say grown-up words like "damn" out loud. Her dad would give her a stern look and maybe take her home, and she didn't want that.

As soon as she dragged her pumpkin bucket out of the backseat, her dad closed the door and she immediately grabbed his hand. She was excited to see more kids at this party and wanted to hurry her dad up. Most of the kids in the neighborhood lived a few blocks away and she wasn't allowed to leave their block, so she didn't get to spend time with any other kids except at school. Maybe she could make a new friend tonight and be allowed to go to their house soon.

She bounced the last five steps to the gate, the Devil's horns on her head wobbling precariously. She had begged and begged to be allowed to be a demon for Halloween, and finally her dad agreed. "But you're not going to be a demon. If you're going to be evil, you're going to be a Devil." So she was wearing a pair of Devil horns and had a silky red cape tied around her neck. Her dad had done her makeup, too—all white except for her lips, which were red, and black around her eyes. Her dad had also gotten into the Halloween spirit. He was wearing a set of Devil horns and had a plastic pitchfork in his other hand, too. The dark-haired man at the gate had a halo and wings, and June wondered if there were lots of angels here and if there were any other demons or Devils.

"Hello," the dark-haired man said solemnly, but smiling at them. "Did you bring your invitation?"

"Yeah," June's dad said, letting go of his daughter's hand to fish the invitation out of his back pocket. In addition to the horns and pitchfork, he had a red shirt and black jeans on. He handed the invitation to the dark-haired man and said, "I'm Lu Pellegrino, and this is my daughter June. We live on Common."

The other man nodded and nudged open the gate. "Castiel Collins. Nice to meet you." He handed June a piece of candy and gave them each a green wristband. His smile widened. "Have fun, and happy Halloween."

The Pellegrinos followed the sound of Alkaline Trio coming from the speakers and joined the other party-goers.

* * *

Dean was parking the Impala, so Jo and Sam approached the dark-haired man dressed vaguely as an angel at the gate. "Hey!" she said cheerfully. "I'm Jo Harvelle. I live on Masonic. This is my friend Sam Winchester, and his brother Dean is parking the car, but he should be here any minute."

"I can let him through," the angel said. "Do you have your invitation?"

The invitation _had_ specified to bring it, so naturally, Jo had tucked it into her costume. "Here. Dean's the one with the hockey mask and the cheesy chainsaw."

"Thank you for the warning. He won't be able to bring it in."

"Aw, why not?"

"The children who are here might not appreciate a masked man with what appears to be a dangerous weapon," the angel explained. He indicated a plastic tub half-filled with an assortment of other fake weapons. "I have to confiscate all real-looking weapons. He'll get it back, though," he added quickly.

Sam grinned and shook his head. "He's not going to appreciate that, I promise you."

"I'll keep that in mind." He tore two green wristbands from the others and wrapped one around each of their wrists. "My name is Castiel Collins," he said. He nudged open the gate with his foot. "Enjoy your evening, and happy Halloween."

The gate swung closed behind Jo Harvelle and Sam Winchester and Castiel idly kicked at the chair he was sitting on. Being a bouncer was boring, but at least Hester would be coming along to take his place soon. The two of them had been assigned to swap out every hour or so to let the other one enjoy the party as well, since Balthazar was mixing drinks, Anna was in charge of music, and Gabriel had (foolishly, Castiel thought) been put in charge of handing out candy and running a few games. The kids would love him, he was sure of that, but Gabriel would probably eat half of the candy. It was a good thing they'd bought so much.

The sound of footsteps up the walkway attracted his attention and he turned to look. It was presumably Dean because this man was wearing a hockey mask and holding a fake chainsaw. "Hey," the man behind the mask mumbled.

"Hello. You are…?"

The man behind the mask froze for a moment before lifting the mask away from his face as if to get a better look at him. Castiel felt his breathing catch in his chest and his heart thudding unnecessarily hard. _Oh, my God._ This man was absolutely beautiful. Even though it looked like he hadn't shaved in two or three days, he still looked impossibly pretty, all full lips and sparkling eyes and high cheekbones and—Castiel mentally shook himself. _Get it together._ He had a job to do, after all.

"Um. I'm Dean. Dean Winchester," he said breathlessly. Dean swallowed hard. "And you'd be…?"

"Castiel Collins. Hello, Dean," he couldn't resist adding.

"Um. My friend Jo Harvelle and my brother Sam already came through here, right?"

"Yes. They warned me you'd be coming. I can't let you bring that in," Castiel said, indicating the fake chainsaw.

"Oh. Um, am I gonna get it back?" Dean's eyes were wide and worried.

"Of course. I promise it will be safe until you leave."

He appeared to think it over for a moment before he nodded and handed over the chainsaw. Castiel took it and wrapped a wristband around the handle. He wrote _D.W._ on it with a Sharpie and placed it in the plastic tub, then tore another wristband off the roll. "Hold out your wrist," he instructed.

Dean extended his arm, his eyes never leaving Castiel's face. This close to him, Castiel could see how complexly green his eyes were; there must have been five or six different shades all buried and overlapping each other. It was all he could do to keep his hands from trembling as he wrapped the wristband around Dean's wrist.

"Thanks," Dean breathed. Their eyes locked for a split second and there was a sudden bolt of instant recognition. "Are you going to be out here all night?" he asked Castiel.

Castiel shook his head. "I'm heading back in once my cousin comes to take my place. I'll be joining the party for a little while."

Dean smiled. "Okay. I'll try to find you when you come in."

Castiel felt himself smiling back. "I'd like that. Thank you."

* * *

"What are _you_ supposed to be?" Sam heard a highly-amused voice behind him say. Sam sighed and turned around and found himself looking down at yet another person dressed as an angel. Well, sort of. This one just had a pair of wings strapped to his back, but the smirk on his face was anything but angelic. The shorter man's eyebrow quirked up in what might have been amusement. Sam couldn't be sure.

"I'm a moose," Sam explained patiently for the eighth time that night.

"Well, I knew _that_, Sasquatch," the "angel" said, crossing his arms over his chest, "but I meant, what's your costume?"

Sam rolled his eyes and tried to suppress a smile. "Oh, you think you're funny, don't you?"

The angel continued smirking as he popped a Jolly Rancher into his mouth. "Actually, moose-man, I _know_ I'm funny. It's just a matter of who's clever enough to see it." He held out another Jolly Rancher toward Sam who chuckled but accepted it.

"Okay, so I'm a moose. You're obviously an angel. That's not very clever. Compared to you, I'm a comedic genius."

The angel shrugged. "My costume's an original, but trust me, I'm one-of-a-kind."

"That's probably for the best. I'm not sure the world could handle more than one of you."

The shorter man grinned. Sam wasn't about to admit it, but he was strangely attractive. Somehow, he didn't need the halo that he'd foregone. His hair and eyes were golden and actually made him look more angelic than he had any right to be. "Damn straight. So what's your name, moose?"

Sam laughed and unwrapped the candy. "I'm Sam. Who are you?"

"Gabriel."

"Like the archangel?"

Gabriel shrugged. "You know any others? I'm better than that douche-nozzle, though." He grinned. "Who'd you come here with?"

"My brother Dean and my friend Jo. Why? Who did you come here with?"

"I'm here to help, actually. My friend Anna threw this party and she asked me to hand out candy and run the games." Gabriel's grin widened. "Speaking of which, want to bob for ducks?"

"What?"

"Come on, let me show you."

* * *

June pulled away from her father to where four or five other kids were doing a bean-bag toss. Lu had to admire this whole party—it was more of a festival, really. The invitations had been glossy and professional-looking, and everything about the party suggested that someone had gone out of their way to make sure it appealed to everyone. The night would even conclude with fireworks, which he was sure June would appreciate. He hoped there would be another one of these next year, because it would _definitely_ be worth coming back. There were a lot of parents milling around and everyone looked like they were having a good time.

Once he was sure June had easily assimilated into the small cluster of costumed children, he headed off to what looked like the drink table. There was a blonde in a V-neck and angel wings pouring drinks, and as he got closer, he saw that the blonde appeared to be sex incarnate. _Holy fuck._ If angels really looked like _that_, he'd be the most devout man he knew. Then again, this particular angel had him thinking rather unholy thoughts.

He swallowed it down and flashed a smile and the blonde who winked at him and said, "Be with you in just a second, love."

If Lu thought the blonde couldn't get any hotter, his accent proved him wrong. This guy was British, too. _Damn it!_ He remained outwardly cool, but he was melting on the inside. When the angel shot him a smile, Lu was half-surprised he didn't dissolve into a puddle. "What can I get for you, love?" he asked, still smiling at Lu. His smile widened as he took in the other man's costume, twelve-inch plastic pitchfork included.

"Jack and Coke." He smiled, trying to think of something to say. Fortunately, the other man seemed to be a bit more on top of the conversational front.

"So who'd you come here with?"

"Just my daughter."

Lu saw the other man quickly glance at his left had to verify that he was not, in fact, wearing a wedding ring. "She the one with the Devil horns and the Gothic makeup?" Lu wasn't sure how he did it, but the angel managed to keep his tone flirty even when talking about his daughter. Miraculous, really.

"Yeah, that's her. She wanted to hang out with some kids for awhile, so I figured I'd let her do her thing. She'll find me when she wants to see my face again."

The angel snorted with laughter and handed Lu a Solo cup with his drink. "I guess that makes sense. And her mother is…?"

"Not part of our lives," Lu said quietly. He didn't like talking about Eve. Things with her had ended the best they could have for June, but it was still bad.

He seemed to sense Lu's reluctance to discuss the topic with a total stranger. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry."

"It's alright." Lu gave him a reassuring smile. "It's not that big of a deal, honestly."

"That's good." The angel smiled back. "I'm Balthazar Roché," he added, holding out his hand.

Lu shook it, smiling a little wider now. "Nice to meet you. Lu Pellegrino."

"So how late are you staying, Lu?"

"Probably the whole night. I think June's gonna want to see the fireworks."

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to that, too. Anna went all-out for this. I'm actually surprised how well it came together, though."

Lu nodded appreciatively. "Me, too. Think she's going to do this again next year?"

"Probably. I know she wants to. She's gonna start saving up for it earlier. I think the money thing is her biggest concern."

"That makes a lot of sense. Think you'll be back if she does do this again?"

Balthazar grinned. "Definitely. Wouldn't miss it for the world. I don't think she'd let me miss it, either."

* * *

Jo grinned and waved at Dean, who gave her a quick wave before turning his attention back to that Castiel guy. The two of them looked to be having a very intense discussion, or at least one they were both very focused on. Well, it was about time Dean got over Lisa. Jo looked around to locate Sam, but decided to leave him alone for awhile, too. He was laughing, his head and shoulders dripping wet as a small group of kids dressed as superheroes climbed on him and pelted him with rubber ducks. The golden-haired man dressed as an angel who appeared to be supervising was in hysterics, occasionally throwing a duck at Sam as well. Everyone was having a good time, and she was getting to meet some of her neighbors, too. It was a good night.

She told a woman named Jessica Moore that she'd be right back and headed over to the DJ stand. She really wanted to hear some The Damned and figured that, with the strange music they'd been playing all night, some forty-year-old British horror-punk was well within the realm of possibility. She waited patiently for the two kids in front of her to make their requests. As soon as they scampered away, she peered around the flipped-up laptop lid.

Only a silver tinsel halo suspended by wire had been visible from the front. When Jo caught sight of the rest of the angel hidden behind the computer, she felt herself blushing. "Hi," she said. She didn't usually feel shy around pretty women, but none of them had eyes quite that blue, either.

The blue-eyed angel smiled. "Hi! Happy Halloween!"

She was the only one that Jo had seen wearing a complete angel costume. She was actually pretty impressed. "Are you still taking requests?" she asked.

The angel's smile turned mischievous. "Well, I probably shouldn't take requests from demons," she started, "but I'll make an exception in your case. What would you like to hear?"

"'Jet Boy, Jet Girl' by The Damned. You do have The Damned, right?"

She gave Jo a look of mock offense. "Of course I do! No self-respecting DJ _doesn't_ have The Damned."

Jo giggled. "Good. At least you have your self-respect."

The angel grinned at her, clicked something on her laptop, and asked, "So are you here by yourself, or…?"

"No, I brought my friends Sam and Dean, but I think they're both flirting with some of the guys you have working here. Dean seems to like the guy taking invites by the door—Castiel, I think he said his name was?—and I think Sam likes the angel who's watching the kids."

The redhead laughed. "That would be Gabriel. As long as he's watching the kids and not eating the candy, he's harmless. So you've been mingling, then?"

Jo nodded. "Yeah, I didn't know many people around here before this. Whose idea was this? They deserve a kiss, for sure."

The other woman laughed again, louder now and with a definite blush. "Really? Because it was my idea. All of this was me. I mean, I had a lot of help from my cousins, but…" She shrugged, her face almost as red as her hair. "But this is my baby."

Jo felt herself blushing, too. "Well, I was being serious. Did you want that kiss?"

The angel was giggling, her halo starting to slip to one side. "Absolutely. But I feel like I should introduce myself first, so I'm not kissing a total stranger. I'm Anna Milton."

Jo couldn't stop grinning. "I'm Jo. Jo Harvelle." Her blush deepened but she squared her shoulders, put her hand on Anna's shoulder, and pulled them together, pressing a quick but tender kiss to her lips.

When she finally pulled back, she wasn't sure which one of them was blushing more, but they were both smiling. "So, um, are you going to be back here all night?"

Anna shook her head. "No, at nine-thirty, we're having fireworks, and everything else will stop for that. Music, drinks, games—it's just going to be my cousin Michael setting off a bunch of fireworks." Her smile widened. "Why? Did you want me to come find you for that?"

Jo laughed. "Maybe. I mean, if you weren't planning on watching them with someone else."

Anna smiled and gave Jo's hand a quick squeeze. "Nope, not at all."

* * *

At nine-twenty, Anna announced that fireworks would be starting in ten minutes and that it was last call for basically everything. The next few minutes were utter chaos with Gabriel tossing candy into mobs of children and Balthazar mixing drinks in record time until he put the last of the booze away at nine-thirty. Michael had cleared out a small spot away from the house and put down a circle of rocks to keep any accidental fires contained, and both he and his friend Raphael were standing by with fire extinguishers just in case. He crouched down, flicked his lighter, and lit the first four fuses. Then he and Raphael put some distance between them and the fireworks.

As the first rocket launched, Lu felt another hand slide into his left. June was clinging to his right hand, so he looked to his left and saw Balthazar standing there, looking up at the sky. Lu couldn't help grinning and he gave Balthazar's hand a slight squeeze. Balthazar's lips quirked up in a smile.

With the second bang and spray of colors, a pair of arms wrapped around Sam from behind. He choked on a laugh, already knowing who it was. He half-turned and slung his arm around Gabriel's shoulder, and the shorter man gave him a cheesy smile. "Miss me, Sasquatch?"

"Not as much as you'd think," Sam joked.

Gabriel shot him a mock-offended look but snuggled into Sam's side anyway.

The third bang found Dean sneaking up behind Castiel and putting his hands over his eyes. Castiel jumped and spun around, but his startled expression resolved into a smile when he saw who it was. He let Dean's arms circle around him and he leaned back into the slightly-taller man. He couldn't help blushing when he felt Dean's lips press against the back of his head, knocking his halo slightly askew, but he didn't mind.

When the fourth explosion echoed around the neighborhood, a redheaded angel and a blond demon were sitting on the grass, leaning against a tree a little way apart from everyone else. Jo's hand found Anna's and they laced their fingers together. "Did you have a good time?" Anna asked softly.

"Of course. Think you're going to do this again next year?" Jo asked.

Anna smiled. "I don't think I have any other choice. I know _I_ had a lot of fun, and I think everyone else enjoyed it, too. We did Halloween right, I think."

Jo nodded in agreement and leaned her head against Anna's shoulder.

* * *

**This is what I do instead of going trick-or-treating. I write fanfiction. Happy Halloween, everyone!**


End file.
